The overarching concern for protection of Guyana’s environment was raised by the country’s President, David Granger, during a meeting on Wednesday with CEO of Hess Corporation, John Hess, and other officials. The meeting was held at State House, in the country’s capital, Georgetown.
Hess Corporation holds a 30 percent interest in drilling operations offshore Guyana, in the Stabroek Block.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP), Mr. Granger told the visiting delegation that while the country is eager to have oil production come on stream, this must be done in the context of Guyana’s ‘green’ development trajectory and as such protection of the environment is critical. “We are very concerned about the preservation of the environment… We want the extractive industries to be developed in a sustainable way,” the President stated.
Mr. Hess said his company is committed to Guyana and is proud to be investing billions of dollars in the country. He assured that Hess Corporation is committed to transparecny. “We are committed to your country. We are committed to being here… HESS is a long-term investor and we are very proud of the partnership with ExxonMobil and Nexen [Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited] as well… We hope this development of Liza first and hopefully other prospects will transform your country and we will try to help you the best way we can to ensure that oil wealth is spent in the best way possible.”
He also spoke of the importance which his company places on social responsibility and
assured the Head of State that they stand ready to work with the Government to address priority areas. “We are ready to work together to help you with your vision for the country to ensure that the oil treasure really becomes the people’s treasure,” he said.
Hess recently earned a place on Corporate Responsibility magazine’s prestigious list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2017. The list recognizes public companies across the United States that demonstrated strong performance in such areas as environment, climate change, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance, philanthropy and community support.
Hess is ranked as one of the top oil and gas companies, and No. 51 overall.
The CEO was accompanied by the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Greg Hill, Executive Vice President at Exxon Mobil Exploration Corporation, Mike Cousins, Country Manager, Rod Henson and outgoing Country Manager at Esso Exploration and Production Guyana, Jeff Simons along with Exxon’s Public and Government Affairs Manager, Kimberly Brasington.
Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, was also present at the meeting.
